Stage Talks with Bellingcat

TW: This episode contains a description of a murder and mutilation. This week we spoke to the team at New America about their work tracking militia and private military groups online. Candace Rondeaux and Ben Dalton led us through their tips and techniques for tracing connections on Russian social media site VK and Telegram. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 11th 2025. M...

This week we spoke to Galen Reich, Tech Community Lead at Bellingcat. In the talk Galen provided invaluable advice for those who want to build a tool for research, highlighting what aspects you need to consider in the planning stages, raising awareness of what obstacles could arise once the tool is established and explaining how anyone can build an everlasting tool with or without coding knowhow....

This week we were joined by psychotherapist and activist Leyla Hussein. In the session we explored how reporters and researchers can make survivors of sexual violence feel safe, supported and heard, and at the same time ensure they make an impact with their work. TW: The talk contains extensive discussion of sexual violence particularly FGM. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the...

This week we were joined by Art Detective Arthur Brand. Arthur Brand has recovered over 200 stolen artworks throughout his career, these include famous paintings once thought lost, from Dali’s to Picasso’s. Within the talk he explains how open sources are crucial to his work and he shares valuable resources for those who are curious about the world of art crime themselves. This talk was hosted by...

This week we were joined by Bellingcat researcher Kolina Koltai and our long-standing publishing partners Kevin Clancy, cofounder of Evident Media and Sergio Olmos, an investigator from CalMatters. The conversation centered around the reliance on bystander videos for accountability of these arrests and the scale advice for other researchers on what to look out for in bystander videos and what from...

This week we were joined by Bellingcat's Peter Barth. Peter has been researching a cold case murder from Corpus Christi, Texas, 1971. As part of his research , he's uncovered links to multiple murders and high profile criminal networks, and learnt some invaluable research tips along the way. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 3rd of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Art...

This week we were joined by Fogocruzado founder and journalist Cecília Olliveira. Cecília launched Fogocruzado after working on a story and discovering that data on armed violence in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, something she was seeking at the time for the investigation, was not being robustly collected. She came in to our Server to discuss the power of data and why plotting data that hasn’t befo...

This week we were joined by Swiss-based NGO Inpact’s Lou Osborn. Lou is one of the lead researchers in their flagship All Eyes ON Wagner project team. Within the conversation she broadened our knowledge on the current economic and political status of Russian PMCs in Africa and raised the difficulties in reporting on these types of groups. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 05t...

This week we spoke to The Fuller Project's Eliza Anyangwe about the steps her newsroom takes to protect their sources. We highlighted the basic precautions you should consider when speaking to those with lived experience of the topic you're reporting on and the differences between traditional investigations and open source research when it comes to human-centric storytelling. The talk was hosted b...

This week we spoke with DoubleThink Lab’s Jasper Hewitt as we explored the new forms of digital propaganda. We discussed spamouflage operations in the US elections to AI influencers pushing state lines on TikTok. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday May 8th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingc...

This week we spoke to John Mooney and Connor Plunkett about their investigation into the Kinahan cartel. We discussed the considerations you need to make when reporting on large scale operations and how they found a hidden side to one of Irelands most notorious cartel bosses. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday April 24th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in...

This week we spoke to Lisa Broekhuizen from Space4Good, looking at how satellite imagery can help show large scale impacts on our environment from deforestation to the growth of trees. The talk was hosted by Giancarlo Fiorella on Thursday April 10th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links discussed:

This week we spoke to Andro Mathewson from Centre for Information Resilience on identifying explosive ordnance seen in imagery on social media. Explosive ordnance are munitions that contain explosives, and can detonate without warning, killing or injuring civilians long after conflicts have ended. Andro wrote a guide to easily identify the most common types of EO and in this talk he walked us thro...

This week we spoke to Joe Dyke and Joe Emmett from AirWars and Nick R. Jenzen-Jones from Armament Research Services (ARES). Together they work on the Open Source Munitions Portal, a database of different munition types for open source research analysis. The team walked us through the uses of the OSMP, the many exciting features they've added over the years and why the project remains a vital resou...

This week we spoke to Dr. Alexa Koenig from UC Berkeley. Alexa has spent much of her recent career looking into how digital investigations could aid accountability for war crimes and gender based violence. Within this discussion we focused on her work covering gender based violence and what lessons she’s learnt from the various groups she’s spoken to and worked with, from legal professionals to su...

This week we're joined by Bellingcat Senior Fundraiser Mareike Vitt. Mareike is here to share invaluable tips on sourcing sustainable funding for open source research and journalism efforts. In the discussion we spoke about the current funding trends and how you as an individual or as an organisation can stand out in grant applications and when reaching out to those all important potential donors....

This week we're joined by Mike Yambo, open source investigator from the popular African news outlet Nation. Mike explains how he managed to establish open source research practices in his traditional newsroom and how he taught himself those skillsets. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday January 30th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Links mentioned: Mike Yambo's work at N...

This week, we're back for the new year with a new topic, exploring the nexus of art theft, trafficking, and intelligence. We spoke with Lynda Albertson from the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art about the process of collecting and analysing information related to art crimes. How can open source research help tackle the world's cultural crimes? The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher...

This week, we decided to change the format a little to mark the final stage talk of the year. We were joined by founder of Bellingcat, Eliot Higgins to discuss how he feels about the last 10 years of open source research as Bellingcat celebrates its decade anniversary. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday December 12th 2024. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Links mentioned: 'We...

This week, we spoke to Dr Adam Thomas Smith, Distinguished Professor of Arts & Sciences, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University and Dr Lori Khatchadourian, Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University about their work at Caucasus Heritage Watch. CHW focuses on monitoring at-risk heritage caught in the cross-fire of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict an...

This week, we spoke to Dr Mariëlle Wijermars about internet governance in authoritarian states like Russia. We discussed the current strategies of the Russian government in internet crackdowns both at home and abroad and the trend of bots, online propaganda and banned media outlets in attempts at ongoing censorship. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday November 8th 2024. Music featur...

This week, we talk to Michael Hilliard. He and his colleagues at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs recently released their report titled "The Armed Forces of Central Asia". We discuss the complex geopolitical landscape in Central Asia, and what defence capacity the countries have to tackle their strategic challenges. The talk was hosted by Merel Zoet on Thursday October 24th 2024. Music f...

This week we talk to Elizabeth Pearson. Together with her colleagues she recently worked on the REASSURE report ( https://voxpol.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Online-Extremism-and-Terrorism-Researchers-Security-Safety-Resilience.pdf )- which is published with the online extremism and terrorism research network VOX-Pol. The report describes experiences regarding safety and security of researchers w...

This week's stage talk is focused on our new and updated toolkit! We've packed every useful open source research tool into one place to help assist new and old researchers, journalists and NGOs. Johanna Wild, who lead the project, joined us on stage to talk through the new developments. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 26th 2024. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. J...

This week's stage talk is about a militant attack in Burkina Faso that happened in late August, in which over 100 unarmed civilians died. We explore how Bellingcat investigators went to work trying to locate and verify graphic imagery claiming to be associated with the massacre. Content warning: Discussion of civilian harm, abuse and death. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday Septem...